Mechanically propelled water craft

ABSTRACT

A water craft comprising a buoyant body having a load supporting surface. An endless belt having spaced apart upper and lower travel portions is supported above the load supporting surface for rotation between two supporting rollers secured within a supporting frame. Steering means are further provided and positioned above the load supporting surface and connected to a rudder located underneath the buoyant body. Water propelling means are coupled to the endless belt for rotation thereof and for propelling the buoyant body in water.

United States Patent Foldvari [111 3,809,003 [451 May 7,1974

[ MECHANICALLY PROPELLED WATER CRAFT [76] Inventor: Janos Foldvari, 300Joliette, Apt.

403, Longueuil, Quebec, Canada 22 Filed: Apr. 4, 1972 211 Appl. No.:240,986

[52] US. Cl 115/1 R, 9/310 E [51] Int. Cl. B60f 5/00, A63c 15/04 [58]Field of Search 115/1 R, 2, 25, 23, 26,

115/70, 21, 49; 272/1 B, 70, 70.3; 9/310 R, 310 B, 310 E, 310 D; 280/228[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,521,595 7/1970 Mix 115]] R3,031,692 5/1962 Riek Young 280/228 1 ,696,927 1/1929 Snyder 280/228Primary ExaminerGeorge E. A. l-lalvosa Assistant Examiner-Charles E.Frankfort Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Alan Swabey 5 7] ABSTRACT A watercraft comprising a buoyant body having a load supporting surface. Anendless belt having spaced apart upper and lower travel portions issupported above the load supporting surface for rotation between twosupporting rollers secured within a supporting frame. Steering means arefurther provided and positioned above the load supporting surface andconnected to a rudder located underneath the buoyant body. Waterpropelling means are coupled to the endless belt for rotation thereofand for propelling the buoyant body in water.

9 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATEN'IEDm 1 m4 $809,003 sum 1 or 3MECHANICALLY PROPELLED WATER CRAFT BACKGROUND OF INVENTION alsodesirable to provide a mechanically propelled water craft which iseconomical to produce, safe to opcrate and which is light andsubstantially rustproof. Still further, the propelling mechanism shouldbe of relatively easy construction for a layman to assemble anddismantle with ease.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION It is thus a feature of the present invention toprovide a mechanically propelled water craft which is simple to assembleand dismantle, economical to produce and safe to operate.

Accordingly, from a broad aspect, the present invention provides a watercraft comprising a buoyant body having a load supporting surface. Anendless belt having spaced apart upper and lower travel portions issupported above the load supporting surface for rotation between twosupporting rollers secured within a supporting frame. Steering means arefurther provided and positioned above the load supporting surface andconnected to a rudder located underneath the buoyant body. Waterpropelling means are coupled to the endless belt for rotation thereofand for propelling the buoyant body in water.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS A preferred embodiment of the presentinvention will now be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the mechanically propelled water craftof thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the buoyant body;

FIG. 3 is a cross-section view along cross-section lines III-III of FIG.2;

FIG. 4 is a side view of a channel frame member;

FIG. 5 is a plan view, partly fragmented, of the propelling mechanismand support frame;

FIG. 6 is a fragmented side view of the propelling mechanismillustrating its positioning on the buoyant body; and

FIG. 7 is a side view, partly exploded, of the steering mechanism.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings andmore particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown, generally at 10, themechanically propelled water craft of the present invention. The watercraft l0 hereinshown is in the form of a surfboard having a buoyant body11, a propelling mechanism 12 having a drive unit 13 and a waterpropelling means in the form of a paddle wheel 14. A steering mechanism15 operates a rudder l6 and provides balancing means to the operator ofthe surfboard.

FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the construction of the surfboard buoyant body11 having a load supporting surface 24 of elongated generally ellipticalshape with a bowed front portion 17. The buoyant body is constructed ofstyrofoam with glass fiber coating or of any suitable material that willsupport the, load intended for. As can be seen, a cavity 18 extendsthrough the body 11 to receive the propelling mechanism 12 therein.Referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and 6, it is seen that the cavity 18 defines anelongated sloped front wall 19 on the load supporting surface 24 of thebody and on which there is secured four threaded inserts 20 forreceiving the drive unit 13 in locking engagement therewith. The holeportion 21 of the cavity extends through both sides of the board toreceive the paddle wheel 14 therein. Further, the cavity extends in aportion of the bottom surface to the rear of the body to define a waterchannel 22 to cause a directional rear water flow. The rudder l6 dependsfrom this channel 22, centrally thereof, and is secured for pivotalmovement about a rudder support rod 23 casted into the broad andextending perpendicular therefrom. A locking screw 25 may also beprovided with the rudder 16 to lock the rudder in position whenutilizing the bouyant body 11 as a standard surfboard. To utilize thebody as a surfboard, the steering mechanism 15, the propelling mechanism12 including drive unit 13 and paddle wheel 14 are removed and astyrofoam cavity plug 26 is secured within the cavity 18 by means of thethreaded inserts 20.

With reference now to FIGS. 4 to 7, there is shown the construction ofthe propelling mechanism 12 and steering mechanism 15. The drive unit 13is secured to a supporting frame formed by two, generally U-shaped,channel members 30. Each channel member 30 is provided with a pluralityof holes 31h and a slot 32 to accommodate the various driving parts,supporting rollers and supporting bar, described below. Holes 3le permitthe channel members, when assembled, to be secured to the wall 19 of thebouyant body 11 by inserting bolts therethrough secured in the inserts20.

Referring more specifically to FIGS. 5 and 6, there is shown theconstruction of the drive unit 13. The channel members 30 are secured inspaced apart, parallel relationship by two supporting rods 33 securedapproximately at the quarter length from each end of the channel members30 in holes 31a. A flat support bar 34 is secured between the front edgeof each channel member 30 by bolts extending through the holes 31d.

A plurality of idler rollers 35 are also secured between the channelmembers 30 in spaced apart relationship and between a front tensionroller 36 and a rear driving roller 37. An endless belt 38, constructedof rubber coated canvas is supported about the tension roller 36 anddriving roller 37. The double paddle wheel 14 is secured between therear portion of the channel members 30 welded to shaft 39 having endbushings 40 pressed into the holes 31b in the channel member 30.

The idler rollers 35 are mounted on shafts 41 having end bushings 42press fitted into ends of idler rollers 35 and rotate on shafts 41. Ascan be seen from FIG. 6, the idler rollers 35 are of smaller diameterthan rollers 36 and 37 and located below the surface of the upper travelportion of the endless belt 38 to provide support of the top surfacesubstantially in a flat plane. The tension roller 36 is supported on ashaft 43 extending through the slots 32 on the channel members 30. Ahole is provided adjacent the ends of shaft 43 to receive the threadedend of a generally L-shaped tension bolt 44. The smaller portion 45 ofthe tension bolt 44 is positioned within the hole 31g in both of thechannel members 30 whereby the tension roller shaft 43 is displacedalong the slots 32 to thereby tighten or slacken the endless belt 38positioned thereover. This adjustment is made by way of wing nuts 46threaded over the threaded bearing end of the bolts 44.

All of the rollers are constructed from light hollow metal tubessupported at their ends concentric to their respective shafts. Each tubesurface is provided with a plurality of holes 50 to permit drainage ofwater from the inner area of the tubes. The driving roller 37 alsocomprises a shaft having bushings 47 adjacent the ends pressed into theholes 31h in the channel members 30. However, to transmit the drive fromthe endless belt 38 to the paddle wheel 14 the outer surface of theroller 37 is coated with a covering, for example rubber, to have goodfrictional contact with the inner surface of the belt 38. The drive fromthe roller is transmitted to the paddle wheel 14 via a plastic drivegear 51 press fit in the end of the tubing of roller 37 and on its shaft52 and pinned through the tubing and shaft of roller 37. Gear 51 is intoothed engagement with a larger plastic driven gear 53 secured adjacentone end of the paddle wheel shaft '39. A semi-cylindrical enclosed gearcover plate 54 protects people from injury from the drive gear53 andpaddle wheel 14. It is within the ambit of the present invention torearrange the drive gearing and to substitute other suitable materialsfor the gears. Also, instead of gears, the drive could be connected bymeans of toothed wheels and an engaging drive belt v (not shown).

I The free ends of the side bars are positioned within a respectivealigned pair of holes 31f in the U-shaped channel members 30 to supportthe frame 62 upright. The bottom end 69 of the steering column 61touches the supporting bar at the hole 68 positioned centrally ,on thesupporting bar, relative to the holes 31f in the channel member 30, toguide the steering rod vertically from the frame. A connecting lever 65passes through a hole 68 into column 61 and secured with a bolt having aperpendicular connecting arm 66. A rudder connecting rod 67 connects therudder 16 to the connecting arm 66 of lever 65 whereby the rudder 16 maybe displaced by turning the steering handle 60. The rod 67 extends underthe endless belt 38 as shown in FIG. 6. The rudder is displaceable by 60on each side of the central longitudinal axis of the body 11.

In operation, a person stands'up on the endless belt 38 balances himselfby holding the cross bar and by using the steering handle 60 steers thecraft when being propelled. By walking or running on the belt 38 thedriving roller 37 is caused to rotate thereby causing the paddle wheel14 to rotate and propelling the water craft forward. The angularposition of the drive unit 13 greatly facilitates the operation of thepropelling mechanism.

When the water craft is not utilized on water, the drive unit 13 may beremoved from the body 1 1 and the paddle wheel 14 dismantled. Small legs(not shown) are then secured in holes 3le whereby the frame 30 issupported at a slight angle having the front end elevated. Thisarrangement would then provide an endless track for jogging or runningexercise. The steering frame 62 could also remain in position removing,of course, all the linkage.

It is within the ambit of the present invention to provide a brake forthe endless track and a brake release on the steering handle whereby theendless belt may remain stationary until the release is activated. Also,the propelling mechanism 12 may be secured between two bouyant bodies,each provided with a rudder to form a catamaran type water craftachieving more stability.

I claim:

1. A water craft comprising a bouyant body having a load supportingsurface, an endless belt supported above said load supporting surfacefor rotation between an adjustable tension roller and a drive rollereach secured within a supporting frame, said endless belt having spacedapart upper and lower travel portions, a plurality of idler rollers aresecured in spaced apart relationship within said frame and positionedbetween said tension roller and said driving roller, said idler rollersbeing secured below said upper travel portion of said belt to provide agenerally flat upper travel surface capable of carrying a load, saidtension roller, driving roller and idler rollers being hollow metaltubes each having a plurality of holes therein to permit drainage of theinner area of tubes and supported at their ends concentric to theirrespective shafts, steering means positioned above said load supportingsurface and connected to a rudder located underneath the bouyant body,steering means positioned above said load supporting surface andconnected to a rudder located underneath the bouyant body, and waterpropelling means coupled to said endless belt for rotation thereof andfor propelling said bouyant body in water.

2. A water craft as claimed in claim 1 wherein a cavity is provided insaid load supporting surface and extending through said bouyant body,said cavity defining an elongated sloped front wall adapted to receivesaid supporting frame thereon and a hole portion to receive saidpropelling means therein.

3. A water craft as claimed in claim 2 wherein a water channel cavity iscentrally located in the lower surface of said bouyant body andextending from said hole portion to the rear edge of said bouyant body.

4. A water craft as claimed in claim 1 wherein said steering meanscomprises a steering column extending above said frame for axialdisplacement and having a steering handle at the upper end thereof, saidsteering column being connected to said rudder by connecting meanswhereby rotational movement of said column causes angular displacementof said rudder.

5. A water craft as claimed in claim 4 wherein said steering column issupported vertically in a steering support frame having side barssecured in said frame and a top cross-bar integral with said side bars,said connecting means having a lever secured to the bottom end of saidsteering column and a connecting rod extending from said lever to saidrudder under said lower travel portion of said endless belt.

6. A water craft as claimed in claim 1 wherein said adjustable tensionroller is positioned at the front end of said endless track andsupported on a shaft extending through a pair of slots in saidsupporting frame, one slot adjacent each end of said tension roller,said shaft being connectedat its ends to a respective adjustment meansadapted to adjustably position and retain said shaft within said slots.

7. A water craft as claimed in claim 6 wherein said adjustment means isa tension bolt secured at one end to said frame in front of said slot,said other end of said bolt having a threaded portion extending througha hole in said shaft, and a wing nut threadably secured on said threadedportion to urge said shaft along said slot to thereby adjust the tensionin said endless belt.

8. A water craft as claimed in claim 1 wherein said driving roller isposition at the rear end of said endless and track and supported on ashaft supported by said frame, a drive gear secured to said shaft fortoothed engagement with a driven gear associated with said propellingmeans, said driving roller having the surface thereof treated forfrictional engagement with said endless belt to thereby impart axialrotation to said driving roller as said endless belt passes in contacttherewith.

9. A water craft as claimed in claim 8 wherein said propelling means isa paddle wheel mounted on a shaft, said driven gear being securedadjacent one end of said propelling shaft.

1. A water craft comprising a bouyant body having a load supportingsurface, an endless belt supported above said load supporting surfacefor rotation between an adjustable tension roller and a drive rollereach secured within a supporting frame, said endless belt having spacedapart upper and lower travel portions, a plurality of idler rollers aresecured in spaced apart relationship within said frame and positionedbetween said tension roller and said driving roller, said idler rollersbeing secured below said upper travel portion of said belt to provide agenerally flat upper travel surface capable of carrying a load, saidtension roller, driving roller and idler rollers being hollow metaltubes each having a plurality of holes therein to permit drainage of theinner area of tubes and supported at their ends concentric to theirrespective shafts, steering means positioned above said load supportingsurface and connected to a rudder located underneath the bouyant body,steering means positioned above said load supporting surface andconnected to a rudder located underneath the bouyant body, and waterpropelling means coupled to said endless belt for rotation thereof andfor propelling said bouyant body in water.
 2. A water craft as claimedin claim 1 wherein a cavity is provided in said load supporting surfaceand extending through said bouyant body, said cavity defining anelongated sloped front wall adapted to receive said supporting framethereon and a hole portion to receive said propelling means therein. 3.A water craft as claimed in claim 2 wherein a water channel cavity iscentrally located in the lower surface of said bouyant body andextending from said hole portion to the rear edge of said bouyant body.4. A water craft as claimed in claim 1 wherein said steering meanscomprises a steering column extending above said frame for axialdisplacement and having a steering handle at the upper end thereof, saidsteering column being connected to said rudder by connecting meanswhereby rotational movement of said column causes angular displacementof said rudder.
 5. A water craft as claimed in claim 4 wherein saidsteering column is supported vertically in a steering support framehaving side bars secured in said frame and a top cross-bar integral withsaid side bars, said connecting means having a lever secured to thebottom end of said steering column and a connecting rod extending fromsaid lever to said rudder under said lower travel portion of saidendless belt.
 6. A water craft as claimed in claim 1 wherein saidadjustable tension roller is positioned at the front end of said endlesstrack and supported on a shaft extending through a pair of slots in saidsupporting frame, one slot adjacent each end of said tension roller,said shaft being connected at its ends to a respective adjustment meansadapted to adjustably position and retain said shaft within said slots.7. A water craft as claimed in claim 6 wherein said adjustment means isa tension bolt secured at one end to said frame in front of said slot,said other end of said bolt having a threaded portion extending througha hole in said shaft, and a wing nut threadably secured on said threadedportion to urge said shaft along said slot to thereby adjust the tensionin said endless belt.
 8. A water craft as claimed in claim 1 whereinsaid driving roller is position at the rear end of said endless andtrack and supported on a shaft supported by said frame, a drive gearsecured to said shaft for toothed engagement with a driven gearassociated with said propelling means, said driving roller having thesurface thereof treated for frictional engagement with said endless beltto thereby impart axial rotation to said driving roller as said endlessbelt passes in contact therewith.
 9. A water craft as claimed in claim 8wherein said propelling means is a paddle wheel mounted on a shaft, saiddriven gear being secured adjacent one end of said propelling shaft.